


That Awkward Moment When...

by NilesDaughter



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: And Caleb is also oblivious, M/M, Molly is kinda jealous but also oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 13:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15002126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NilesDaughter/pseuds/NilesDaughter
Summary: When Caleb flounders to turn away an unexpected suitor, Molly steps in to help. Inspired by the following Tumblr post: https://probablyboredaf.tumblr.com/post/173031053485/so-i-thought-of-something-and-im-never-going-to.





	That Awkward Moment When...

One thing that Mollymauk had absolutely loved about the circus was the fact that they never stayed in one place for too long. It had been a lifestyle that had disallowed for consistency and meant that there was really no such as a daily routine. Not in the typical sense, at least. And while Molly was still trying to determine whether or not he trusted the Mighty Nein, they at least gave him the opportunity to maintain an inconsistent lifestyle. He found there was an inherent excitement to not knowing how the day would go and with the sort of characters he was currently traveling with, there really was no telling what sort of shenanigans they could get into.

That particular day had been quiet, however, as they rested up after their most recent misadventure. Even Molly himself had slept well past noon, though he wasn’t too worried about it; they’d already agreed they would take a couple of days to recuperate and resupply before heading out for the road once more. As such, he took his time in dressing and heading down towards the tavern.

Although it was only mid-afternoon, the tavern was still relatively crowded as people milled about and socialized after the mid-day meal. Molly took a moment to scan the room, partially out of genuine curiosity about the patrons of the establishment and partially to see if he could spot anyone else from the Mighty Nein. Seated at a table near the fireplace on the far wall, he spied Caleb and Nott huddled together with two partially-filled platters in front of them. No one else in their party seemed to be in the vicinity.

In the moment Molly hesitated to approach the table, he observed as Nott got up from the table and grabbed the tankards the two had been drinking from. She crossed the somewhat crowded room to approach the barkeep, presumably in search of a refill. Molly allowed his gaze to shift from Nott back to Caleb, noticing that a half-elven woman was now occupying the seat Nott had just vacated. Molly vaguely recalled seeing her the evening before when they’d arrived at the inn.

As he continued to watch, Molly noticed that the woman, with a smile on her face, slowly leaned in towards Caleb as she tried to spark a conversation with the wizard. The woman seemed friendly enough but Caleb looked akin to a startled deer. Molly felt…something in his chest and before he was really aware of his own actions, started crossing the room towards them.

“…found magic fascinating. Maybe you could show me a trick or two?” the stranger asked, now pressing her side against Caleb. “If you want, you can come up to my room for more privacy.”

“ _N-nein_. Er, _danke_ for the, um…”

“Unfortunately, madam, this one is called for,” Molly announced, perhaps a bit louder than intended, as he sat on Caleb’s opposite side and threw an arm around his shoulders. He drew Caleb closer into his one-armed embrace and smiled at the woman.

She blinked a little and looked between the two of them. “O-oh…Sorry, I didn’t mean to…Excuse me.” She nodded a little and quickly hurried away.

As she left, Molly felt the tension leave his body as relief spread through him. He dropped his arm from Caleb’s shoulders. “Sorry about the intrusion but it looked like you needed some…” He trailed off as he finally looked to see his friend’s face.

Caleb stared up at Molly with wide eyes and for a wild moment, the tiefling was worried that something had thrown him back into whatever memories consumed Caleb in times of stress. But the longer Molly stared back, the more he realized that the blank expression on Caleb’s face was not the same as his battle-induced hazes. This Caleb still seemed to be existing in the present moment but he also seemed incapable of tearing his gaze from Molly’s as his cheeks steadily became pink.

“Caleb?” Molly asked, slowly reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder. “You alright?”

He did not respond outside of the pink dusting his cheeks steadily becoming darker.

Just as Molly opened his mouth to say his name once more, Nott returned to the table.

“It’s about you got up!” she commented upon seeing Molly. “We were beginning to wonder if you’d sleep…What’s wrong with Caleb?”

“I’m, uh, not sure.”

Nott frowned, eyes narrowing a little as she looked up at Molly. “Well, whatever you did, I’m pretty sure you broke him.”

That finally seemed to draw Caleb from his reverie and he finally tore his gaze away from Molly. Beneath the table, he snapped his fingers and Frumpkin appeared in his lap. Caleb now focused all of his attention on running his fingers through the cat’s fur, looking everywhere but at Molly.

“Are you okay?” Nott asked, her voice cracking a little with concern.

Caleb nodded stiffly. “ _Ja_. _Mir geht es gut_.”

Nott glanced at Molly again and shrugged.

He shrugged in return but returned to watching Caleb. Molly knew he acted without thinking. Hells, there had been plenty of times where he had intentionally overstepped Caleb’s boundaries just for the sake of making a point. But this time…This time, he was genuinely worried he had crossed a line without meaning to.

“You sure you’re alright?” he asked softly.

“ _Ja_ ,” Caleb repeated with another stiff nod. “I appreciate your help. I was not sure I could politely turn her away.”

“…Yeah, no problem.” Molly managed a faint smile and clapped Caleb on the shoulder. He then stood again and stretched a little. “Well, I’m going to get myself some food. I’ll see you around.”

“ _Ja_ ,” Caleb repeated once more.

Molly nodded once and turned away, crossing to the bar.

Once he was out of earshot, Nott scrambled back up into her seat and nudged Caleb. “Are you really okay?” she asked.

“ _Nein_ ,” Caleb groaned a little, adjusting his position so that he could now cradle Frumpkin in his arms, continuing to stress-pet the cat.

He was most definitely not okay. Not when the tiefling had just so casually implied that the two of them were together. Beyond the initial surprise at the statement, Caleb had felt something else, a sort of odd warmth spreading through his chest at Molly’s protectiveness. He had no idea what to do with that feeling. Stupid Mollymauk Tealeaf.


End file.
